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Thursday, May 14, 2015

THE DIGITAL FACTOR

My musings on my borderline obsession with my phone, the ever-evolving world of fashion and shopping online.

As a blogger, my smartphone is
my universe. From the moment I wake up and check my social media feeds in bed,
to the time I lie in bed waiting for sleep to come while relentlessly scrolling
through my Instagram feed, and from checking emails to sending hilarious GIFs
to my friends, my phone needs to be with me all the time.

But there is absolutely nothing
I am going to do about my borderline obsession with my phone. And you would be
lying if you tell me you are any different. Without my phone, how would I be
able to post my blog updates on the go, reply to my emails instantly, or jot
down notes and creative content as and when I need to. In fact, I even made the
first draft of this post on my phone.

Remember the days when you used
to click pictures of your precious moments with your roll camera, selectively
and wisely, and had only a limited idea about what the outcome of the pictures
would be as you waited patiently for them to develop? Cut to 2015, where you can
click pictures of your OOTDs (Outfit of the day,) NOTDs (Nails of the day,)
shoes, makeup, your cat’s OOTD; edit the pictures, and share them within
seconds with the world of online fashion enthusiasts.

The ever-evolving fashion
industry has embraced the digital world wholly in the last few years. (Take for
example this first ever 4D dress which has been created using
a printer!) The number of people shopping online is increasing day
by day, and people have even started to shop more from their smartphones now
then from their desktops. (The Fashion retail website Myntra is planning to
soon become a mobile-first entity, as 90% of Myntra’s
traffic in being generated from its mobile app.) Blogs and Instagram have
brought about a huge change in the sartorial world. Self-publication and social
media has lent people a voice that only belonged to media giants till a while
ago, and it is impossible to predict the revolutionary changes to come in the
years to follow.

I might just be one of the last
few people to shop online. I remember feeling horrified as well as dubious
about buying clothes without actually being able to feel them, try them or even
smell them (yeah I do that sometimes. #JudgeNot) Look at the sartorial world
today, where it has become so regular, and convenient to buy clothes online.
And even online shopping now is moving from our desktops to our phones!

They say you are either digital
or you are on your way to become history. Okay nobody says this, I just made it
up, but this is how it's pretty much going to be henceforth. Signing off with
the wonderment of the fact that with our phones, we can carry our own little
customized digital universe in our pockets.